The age of solar + storage is here. It’s the least expensive option to add power to the grid today, and prices are still dropping while efficiencies are increasing.
This. And battery chemistries are advancing rapidly to utilize more readily available minerals. For cars, yes, you need advanced stuff that is small and powerful. But for home and grid use, batteries can afford to be big and heavy.
Big heavy batteries for my home would be fine. I want big heavy batteries for my house, but they are still so expensive right now. The Anker batteries seems like one of the best deals around to do a home battery system right now, but I get about 2kWh/$. When I bought my IONIQ6 I got about 2kWh/$, and it came with the rest of a car!
I really don't understand the economics of home batteries right now.
They get much cheaper when you look things that are modular, and not all tied up in a pretty package.. These batteries have been very popular this year [0]. But then you have to buy a charger/inverter, that maybe works with your solar, and is then certified to work with your power company, etc.
And cables, and a rack to hold them, and a tool to crimp those big huge cables, etc.
For professional installers, they can install these pretty easily, or install the more 'integrated' systems with a much, much larger margin for faster..
1. Economies of scale. The market for an EV is going to be much higher than a whole house battery solution. And most of these solutions are relying on a network of independent contractors to sell and service these batteries. Unlike dealerships, they also aren't buying them at scale.
2. Financing. Most likely you are driving a EV financed by a bank. They've got the process so streamlined you can know within minutes if your 4-wheeled battery bank is coming home with you or not. Trying to get a house battery financed is such a convoluted mess. If it was advertised like a dealership, "Come down to Big Al's Battery Barn. We'll set you up with a 10kWh bank with 0% financing!", I imagine these things would fly off the shelf. Leading back to 1.
Sodium-sulfur batteries have traditionally operated at 300-350 C, which limits their acceptability and increases operating costs. Are you imagining lower temperature versions becoming available?
